Can you please help to identify this Jazz Piano music?

[the romantic]

Hello Everyone,

I came across some old tapes of a friend playing the piano, and I would like to know the songs he is playing.  Sadly, my friend has passed away, so I'm not able to ask him.  I believe the tracks are mostly old Jazz standards.  The recording quality is not great, but hopefully someone is familiar enough with the songs to identify them.

The first track almost sounds like Danny Boy in the first bar, but it's obviously not.  The next one is a country/blues song that I cannot remember the name of.  I remember when he played the 3rd song, he was messing around and playing something in the style of Art Tatum - no clue what it is, but the melody is noticable from time to time.  The last one is a waltz, sounds almost like a rag.

Thanks for reading my post, and I appreciate any suggestions you can make!  


Martin

UPDATE - I've removed the identified tracks to free up the server space.  More tracks further down the thread!

[Bob]

Some jazz arrangements follow chords and don't have the melody right out there.  If the first one turned out to be Danny Boy I wouldn't be surprised.  I'm not a jazzer, but I think sometimes they keep the harmony and toss the melody, and then reharmonize it and improvize.  It doesn't sound like the original piece anymore.

The second one I think I've heard but I don't know what it is.

The third one I know I've heard.  That's got to be a standard jazz piece.  Something from the swing era?  Benny Goodman?  Unless they did an arrangement of it during that time.  Dang... I KNOW I've heard that.  I just don't know the title.

Nice playing though.  I liked the first three.  The fourth one sounded a little cheesy.

[Bob]

I think the third one is Moonglow?

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"Moonglow" is a 1934 popular song with music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills and words by Eddie DeLange. It was first recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and Ethel Waters in 1934, and has been recorded many times since.

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I think this is what I've heard before, or something very similar.

Benny Goodman

This is it.  This is what I've heard.

Goodman


Well, I got one at least.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonglow_(song)

It's good you put these clips up. "...it's a real good thing you did. A real good thing."

[the romantic]

Thanks Bob!

That Moonglow is a nice piece, I listened to all the links.  As you say, when improvising in this way, the song could be pretty much anything.  It could be Moonglow for sure, but it could even be that he played a couple of different songs.  The 2nd half of the track seems quite different to the first.  And as for that last piece, that could just be some nonsense that he just made up 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help!


Martin

[the romantic]

Hello again,

I actually asked my mother about these songs....she's good!

The first one is 'Anniversary Waltz' - www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFVy8td-H-A

Next is 'Sugar Moon' -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBlxF6oAQFI

The third one is Begin the Beguine! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bosu5ilp8ic

Last one is more tricky, I'm still hunting.  My mother says the lyrics "Smile a while, I bid you sad adieu, When the clouds roll back I'll come to you." go along with the melody, although this arrangement is deliberately comical  .  The only info I could find on this was here: www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-player-piano/

This actually leaves me with just 2 others that I can't identify, I'll post them here in case anyone can help...